Update July 2nd 2008 Note: please distribute this e-mail widely My name is Kim Elmslie and I am writing to you on behalf of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Angelika Langen, one of the directors of the Northern Lights Wildlife Society (NLWS). We wanted to provide you with some background on the pilot grizzly bear rehabilitation project that is happening in British Columbia this summer.
IFAW first became involved with NLWS in May 2007 when Angelika Langen attended the first Bear Rehabilitation Workshop in Russia. For over a year NLWS and IFAW have been working together with the British Columbia Ministry of Environment on a pilot project to rescue, rehabilitate, release and monitor grizzly bear cubs that have been orphaned. One of the objectives of the pilot grizzly bear rehabilitation project is to create standards and protocols. While the bears are in care, valuable information about grizzly behaviour, nutritional needs, medical treatment and facility requirements will be collected so that it can be shared with wildlife rehabilitators and others. A second objective of the pilot project is to monitor the bears once they are released into the wild. The data gathered from post release monitoring will assist in determining what happens to the bears when they are released back to the wild and will answer questions regarding survival rates, possible human/bear conflict situations and their ability to integrate into the existing wild population.
Currently there are two grizzly bears in the program, named Suzy and Johnny. Suzy arrived at the Northern Lights shelter in Smithers on June 26th 2007. She had been seen in the Monkman Provincial Park area with her mother and sibling earlier in the month and then was seen with only her sibling. It is assumed that her mother had been poached. The local conservation officer assisted in capturing Suzy, however, her sibling got away. A second bear, known as Johnny, arrived at the centre on November 12th 2007. Johnny’s mother had been killed by a semi-truck outside of Prince George close to Purden Lake Provincial Park. Orphaned bear cubs, such as Suzy and Johnny, are given around the clock care when they first arrive at the Northern Lights Wildlife Society. Once the bears are strong enough to eat on their own they are placed in a specially designed enclosure where they can explore their surroundings. While in care it is important that the bears have very limited interaction and with people and, whenever, possible are able to interact with other bears.Shortly, the bears will be released back to the wild, when the berries are at their best. These first two bears will be released together, close to both of their home ranges, in the McGregor region of the parsnip river.When released, Suzy and Johnny will be fitted with satellite collars which will record their location every 90 minutes, the information will be downloaded three times a week. The collars are programmed to drop off in September 2009. Throughout the summer I will be sending updates on how the bears are doing. If you have received this e-mail from me but do not want further updates please let me know and I will remove your name from the list. If you have received this e-mail from someone other than me and would like to be put on the primary update list please e-mail me and let me know.Please contact Angelika or myself if you have any questions. All the best,
Kim
Kim Elmslie
Campaigner
IFAW Canada
1 Nicholas Street Suite 612
Ottawa ON K1N 7B7
Tel: (613) 241-3982 ex. 223
Mobile: (613) 878 - 4329
Fax: (613)241-0641
www.ifaw.org
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